Sport: Women's Wimbledon

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Fortnight ago when the top-ranking tennis players of the world assembled at Wimbledon for the 58th All-England championships, most international of all tournaments, the spotlight played on the distaff side. So completely has California's red-haired Donald Budge dominated men's tennis in the past year that no one mentioned the possibility of his defeat. But for women it promised to be the greatest championship in Wimbledon's history.

Except for England's No. 1 Dorothy Round Little, whose recent marriage prevented her from defending the championship, all the best women tennists were entered: Chile's Anita Lizana (U. S. champion), France's Simone Mathieu (French champion), California's Dorothy Bundy (Australian champion), Poland's Jadwiga ("Jaja") Jedrzejowska (last year's runner-up at Wimbledon), Denmark's Hilda Krahwinkel Sperling, California's Alice Marble, Helen Jacobs and Helen Wills Moody. Of the two most famed rivals, Helen Jacobs, out of recent competition because of an injured shoulder, was not even seeded. And Helen Moody, trying for her third comeback in international tennis after three years out of major tournaments, was no better than second choice to win over Co-Favorites Alice Marble and Jaja Jedrzejowska.

Last week, defending Champion Donald Budge having annihilated all other opposition without losing a single set, ambled nonchalantly onto the famed centre court, in the presence of Queen Mary and 18,000 Britons, to meet England's Henry W. ("Bunny") Austin, seeded No. 2. In just 66 minutes—6-1, 6-0, 6-3— Champion Budge disposed of Bunny Austin who was playing excellent tennis even though he had become a father during the tournament. With this victory Donald Budge became the only player ever to hold the Big Four championships of ten-nis (U. S., Australian, French, English) simultaneously and the only man ever to win at Wimbledon without the loss of a set. Next day he won the men's doubles (with Gene Mako) and the mixed doubles (with Alice Marble), and became the only person ever to win three Wimbledon championships two years in a row. But by complete supremacy 23-year-old Donald Budge relegated himself to comparative obscurity.

For tennis addicts this was a women's Wimbledon. Every day capacity crowds filled the old green stands, anxious not to miss the dramatic defeat of Mrs. Moody, which they feared or hoped might happen any day. To British galleries the 31-year-old Californian had demonstrated that she was still good enough to win and also shaky enough to be beaten—which she twice was, in pre-Wimbledon warmup tournaments. Her opponent in the semi-finals was Hilda Sperling, the same Hilda Sperling who had trounced her two weeks before in the London championships. But when the semi-finals were over, and Mrs. Moody had downed Frau Sperling after a grueling free-for-all (12-10, 6-4), the galleries knew at last that Mrs. Moody was once more at the top of her game.